STORIES

About three years after my divorce I was sitting in a meeting of mental health providers. We were planning a fundraiser for a local women’s shelter. One of the providers, a seasoned professional whom I respected a great deal made the comment I often hear when talking about people in abusive partnerships. I don’t remember the exact words anymore, but I remember clearly what was said.

Certain kinds of women don’t end up in abusive relationships. Poor, unintelligent women end up in abusive relationships because they aren’t smart enough to leave.

Called to an apartment by neighbors who heard a loud fight and were worried about the young woman that lived in the apartment, police arrived on-scene. Inside they heard a woman screaming and pleading for help. Officers made forced entry and found Barbie cowering in a corner of the bedroom with a man, her boyfriend, standing over her. The apartment

Art therapy is a place where survivors often find and experience breakthroughs that can alter their future. This was true for Stella. She was having a particularly difficult day, was agitated and had trouble sitting still while she modeled clay in an art therapy group. While making several pieces she realized that she needed to be patient with the media

Mary Ann found herself homeless after being sexually assaulted by the boyfriend of a friend she was staying with. After reporting the assault, she found herself homeless once again, moving from sofa to sofa. “One day,” she remembers, “I received a letter from an advocate at The Julian Center because of the police report I filed, and that letter ended

As part of our partnership with the Indianapolis Metro Police Department, our advocates talk to survivors every day about our services and other resources in the community. Recently, a sexual assault police report came across an advocate’s desk and we reached out to the victim, Chelsea, to offer services. As it turned out, Chelsea’s story was more complex than the